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WRX help please

To: autox@autox.team.net
Subject: WRX help please
From: "David Schwabe" <davidschwabe@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2001 16:53:30 -0500
Hi,

I just ran my friend's WRX in bone-stock trim at an autocross over
the weekend. I've ran and prepared my share of cars over the years,
but this was my first with turbo power *and* four-wheel drive. And to
compound some of my confusion, I ran the first three runs of the day
in bone-stock CS street-tired Miata and then the last 3 in the WRX
after my Miata-owning co-driver had to bail to put an offer in on a
house. So I don't have a ton of time in the WRX, but...

As anyone who has driven a stock WRX knows, the tires are the weak
link (Bridgestone 930s or something). So much of the behavior can be
attributed to them... and some of the handling cured by a set of
Kumhos, Hoosiers, etc.

But understeer was big (especially mid-corner and out), and led me to
ask the fine folks on this list about curing it on the WRX in GS trim.

Is front camber adjustable on the WRX? I know it's a two-bolt strut
in front where it connects to the knuckle, ala Celica or Neon. But
does Subaru make *crash* bolts for the car, again, like the Celica or
Neon??

Does anyone make good, proven-in-autox-competition struts for the
car? I know there are some STI struts, but I don't know how well they
work. Anyone using aftermarket struts? A lot of the slop in the
suspension can be attributed to the squishy stock tires, but I don't
think the stock shocks did a particularly good job in regard to low-
speed damping.

Lastly, does the car seem to like non-traditional lines? Meaning,
there are often lines that you'll see high HP rear drivers (Camaros,
Vettes, etc) take, and then lines that low-HP front-drivers (Celica,
Neon) take. Very often the two are not the same.

Being AWD, I'm not sure how to vary lines, if at all, in comparison
to other cars. My initial thought was to drive it like a front-
driver, but I didn't have enough time in it to be able to try
anything unusual, so I don't know if different approaches pay off
(ie: earlier apex than normal, squaring off the corners, etc).

I realize that people might be afraid to give away all their secrets,
but any help in the slightest would be appreciated.

Thanks,

--Dave

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